Victims can now claim for injuries sustained pre 1979

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A recent change in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 has abolished a rule whereby claimants could not pursue an injury claim if the victim lived under the same roof as the abuser, specifically incidents that occurred before 1st October 1979.

The new rule was implemented on 28th February 2019. It allows for personal injury claims to be brought or re-submitted if they fall into new criteria.

What does this mean?

An injury claim could previously be rejected on the basis of the victim and attacker living under the same roof.

Case study: historic injury claim

In early 1970, Mrs X was seriously assaulted by her husband and sustained injuries. In 2000, she attempted to pursue a historic claim for compensation via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. Her claim was unsuccessful because the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority found that, at the time of the assault, she was living with her husband. Her claim was rejected on the basis that she was living under the same roof as her attacker at the time of the assault.

What if I’ve already tried to claim and it was dismissed?

Under the new legislation, if you made an application under this scheme you may be able to make a new application in respect of the same criminal injury if:

  • The injury was sustained on or after 1 August 1964 but before 1 October 1979
  • The award was refused or withheld because the victim was living with their attacker as members of the same family at the time of the incident

This decision has been pending following the case of JT v First-Tier Tribunal (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) [2018] EWCA Civ 1735, [2018] All ER (D) 15 (Aug) heard in July 2018.

Further information on making a personal injury claim

If you have sustained injuries as a result of criminal activities prior to October 1979 and you thought you couldn’t claim because of the ‘same roof’ principle, or you had a claim rejected because of it, you may be able to re-submit your injury claim.

Our dedicated personal injury solicitors can provide advice and assist in pursuing criminal injury compensation claims. If you wish to speak to someone about a possible personal injury claim, call us on 0117 905 9763 or contact us via our online form.

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